[HanCinema's Digest] Photography and Art

See how one sculptor is using the debris from abandoned traditional buildings to create, The Korea Times reflects on the recently concluded HERA Seoul Fashion Week, Paik Nam-june's iconic video installation gets turned off, and Spanish photographer Andrés Gallardo Albajar captures the symmetry of Korean schools in the capital.

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"Artists use familiar materials to express themselves"

"In their search for their means of expression", writes Shim Woo-hyun on The Korea Herald, "artists sometimes turn to materials to which they are culturally familiar or emotionally attached to". For sculptor Chung Hyun, that means using the debris from abandoned traditional buildings, materials that he admires for their strength. "I used the discarded wood as sculpture materials because they were the things that I am emotionally attached to", said Hyun in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. "The wooden pieces from the houses near the workshop reminded me of the lives of the people who lived in those places, my longtime friends". Some of Chung's labour intensive works of art are now available to view at the Kumho Museum of Art in Seoul. You can also catch Chun's charming creations at the Brooklyn Museum later in the year.

...READ ON THE KOREA HERALD

"This is Seoul fashion"

The biannual HERA Seoul Fashion Week recently came to an end at the stunning Dongdaemun Design Plaza, an event that aimed to showcase K-beauty at it most fabulous. In this post, The Korea Times' team reflects on the week that was by highlighting three fashion designers they thought typified the aesthetic excellence on display...

...READ ON THE KOREA TIMES

"Paik Nam-june's iconic video installation unplugged due to safety concern"

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has announced that Paik Nam-june's iconic video installation will be shut down due to safety concerns. The 30-year-old artwork is an 18-meter tall tower composed of just over 1,000 screens, most of which are old monitors. "We have considered replacing them, but that doesn't seem like enough to fix the problems", said a museum official. According to this report on The Korea Herald, the MMCA is currently seeking advice from professionals on how to persevere Paik's work.

...READ ON THE KOREA HERALD

"South Korea's pastel-perfect schoolyards captured in style"

Spanish photographer Andrés Gallardo Albajar has wondered around Seoul and documented a couple of Korea's "pastel-perfect" schoolyards. While venturing around the streets of Korea's capital, Seoul, Andrés was suddenly struck by the aesthetic appeal of Korea's educational intuitions. "I got fascinated by its symmetry, pastel hues, and unique elements such as trees, old clocks, football goals or an alphabet that I couldn't understand", said Andrés in an interview with Lonely Planet. "Some local people even told me that the images evoked some very nice memories from their childhood".

...READ ON LONELY PLANET